-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The world has a new alliance to save vanishing frogs , toads and salamanders .

A frog swims in a pond in Munich , Germany , in June .

A coalition of organizations established the Amphibian Survival Alliance this month to conserve species threatened by deadly fungus , habitat loss , pollution , pesticides and climate change . The scientists said amphibians are the world 's most threatened group of animals .

Though they thrived on Earth for more than 360 million years , one in three of the 6,000 recognized amphibian species are now at risk of extinction and as many as 122 species have gone extinct since 1980 , according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature 's amphibian specialist group .

`` The world 's amphibians are facing an uphill battle for survival , '' said James Collins of Arizona State University , co-chairman of the group .

He said the new alliance , formed at the Amphibian Mini Summit at the Zoological Society of London , will focus efforts on the biggest threat to amphibians : infectious disease and habitat destruction . The group includes amphibian specialists working in the wild as well as those in zoos , aquariums and botanical gardens worldwide .

`` Amphibians have so much to offer humans , '' said amphibian specialist Simon Stuart . `` Many have an arsenal of compounds stored in their skin that have the potential to address a multitude of human diseases . ''

But as amphibians die out , so do opportunities to develop new medicines , he said . The southern gastric brooding frog , for instance , could have led to the development of a treatment for human peptic ulcers had it not gone extinct , Stuart said .

`` We simply can not afford to let this current amphibian extinction crisis go unchecked , '' he said .

Andrew Blaustein , who began documenting amphibian declines two decades ago , said the loss of species was part of an overall biodiversity crisis .

`` Amphibians seem to have been hit the hardest of all vertebrate species , '' said Blaustein , a professor of zoology at Oregon State University . `` The long-term ecological repercussions of their decline could be profound , and we have to do something about it . ''

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Amphibian Survival Alliance aims to save threatened frogs , toads , salamanders

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One in three of 6,000 recognized amphibian species at risk of extinction , group says

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122 amphibian species have gone extinct since 1980 , group says

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Amphibian species could help in development of medicines , scientist says